The Truth About The Correlation of Pickup Magnets, Output and Coil Windings

Ahh, all this might seem a bit cliched to talk about. We all know how pickups sound more powerful if the coils are overwound or "vintage-sounding" if underwound. We all know how bad pickups are made/wound badly, and great-sounding pickups are made/wound greatly. And an added sprinkle of mojo. But do we actually think about what these things really mean? I mean, they're just numbers to most people, and people believe these numbers tell you how the pickups sound. I'm here to say, that's not entirely true. There's some science behind it, but I'm no physics teacher here. For the sake of understanding what these figures mean, lets just put it in simple words, instead of passing them off as magic or voodoo. Keep in mind that there's no rocket science involved as well....

DC resistance (DCR) is what we all are most familiar with in pickups. It's the reading used to determine the number of windings in relation with the wire gauge, in resistance. Assuming that the wire gauge is the same, the more the windings, the higher the DCR; the lesser the windings, the lower the DCR. Assuming the windings are the same amount, the thinner the wire gauge, the higher the DCR; the thicker the wire gauge, the lower the DCR. Simple high school physics, right...

Overwinding a pickup, as done in humbuckers from 1959, the 59 PAFs have a stronger midrange and higher output compared to the early 56/57 PAFs.

And in the end, all high DCR means high output, low DCR means low output, correct? Not exactly that simple. Take for example, the Dimarzio D Activator set. They are the some of the highest output pickups from Dimarzio's catalogue, but they are not wound hot at all. A quick run through the spec sheet, shows that the D Act pair has very low DCR. In fact, the neck pickup has a 7.2k reading only, lower than a PAF's standard 7.8k, which resulted in an almost singlecoil-y sound. The bridge pickup has a 11.4k reading, which is moderately overwound. They are very loud and powerful, but not hot-feeling at all. They give a loud, clear, bright sound, and it's unforgivingly responsive. Of all times we hear the term "powerful pickups", more often than not it's the hot, fat, warm (or dark) sound from overwound humbuckers. The D Act set, is the complete opposite of those criteria.

There are of course, many other factors causing them to sound like that. First thing first, they employ ceramic magnets. This is what's pumping out the loud, bright sound from them. Then, there's the hex pole screws, that according to pickup designers, they have a more focused "view" of the strings, and therefore when installed, increases the speed of pick response. Put the windings into context, and we have a set of pickups that imitates the huge sound and response of EMGs, but with a more dynamic sensing of the player's picking hand technique.

Here's the essence of what I've learnt from dissecting the spec sheets of pickups:

• The reason why early/vintage pickups are wound to be very low output, was that they didn't use very strong magnets. Winding them to be hotter takes away the treble and adds more mids. They won't cut as well in clean mode, although they'll still do well in driven sounds. Alnico IIs were used back then to make the 57 PAFs (don't start me on why it wasn't aged A5s, that'll be reserved for another post...) and Alnico Vs had completely replaced them in '59. A2s gave a lower output, with a slow response in the midrange (ahh, the ever-famous spongy, compressed driven sound and endless sustain), so pickups back then were wound to be less hot to keep the sound clear and bright. When A5s were used, they realised that with the original winding, some pickups sounded too harsh in the high end. So, the overwound PAF was born.

• The reason why most cheap pickups sound like crap, was that either they wanted to copy the DCRs of vintage pickups but paired with a ceramic magnet, or that they had overwound some Alnico pickups too much to a point where clarity went down the shitter. Ceramic pickups were meant to be of high DCR, because they're inherently bright and fast. A higher DCR will tame the high end of ceramic pickups, and make them more usable. 

• Alnico pickups on the other hand, needed some balanced winding to sound good. Some cheaper Alnico pickups, like Epiphone's Alnico Classic pickups, were wound to be too hot. Sources had said they were equipped with A5, but the muddy sound I get from them seems to support the rumours of them being A2. And overwinding an A2 pickup is just looking for trouble. Plus, the cheaply made nickel-plated brass pickup cover is one hell of a tone blanket. 

• Single coils are meant to have a mid-high winding. One vintage single coil measures at 5.7k DCR on average, but cheap ceramic single coils have only 4.5k average. That's the main reason why most ceramic single coils sound wimpy and empty in the mids, but bright and clanky in the highs. Why some single coils like P90s are also in soul, a ceramic single coil, but sounds way better? That's because, apart from the wider "view" of the strings, they're also wound to an average of 7.8k-8.5k. That's a very high winding for a single coil, because if they're wired in series like a humbucker, that's equivalent to 16-17k. And Fender's ceramic single coils from the MIM guitars are actually not too shabby, because they're powered by 2 ceramic magnets like P90s, and they're overwound. Having a vintage single coil with 5.7k DCR on mind as a standard, with 2 of them wired in series like humbuckers will produce a 11.4k DCR. Therefore,  considering the option of having a pseudo-ceramic single coil on your humbucker guitar, having a higher DCR tend to make the humbuckers sound better in coil split mode.

That's all for today's post. Thanks again for all who finishes reading my posts. Your support is the biggest help I'll ever need and also the biggest, most generous help I have ever received in my guitar-related ventures.

Multi-Effects Unit vs Single Pedals

To multi?

Since the introduction of digital modelling technology and the rise of our beloved red giant kidney-shaped multi-effects unit, the Line 6 POD that converted (just sayin...) half the guitar-playing population to digital modelling fans, the debate has gone on for decades already, and it will go on forever and ever and ever... BUT, I'm here to make a stand, to find out which one reigns supreme in the tone-perfecting quest of guitarists. Let's just start by saying, I like both forms of pedals. They both serve specific purposes and cannot be flexibly replaced by each other.

Or to single? Hmmm....

Multi-effects have come a long way since the pioneering generation of digital modelling products. What we have today is much closer to the analogue real-thing tone than most people would think. With modelling units, by logic, the more you pay, the closer your unit sounds, compared to the real deal. But watch out for modelling units that uses the same soundcard/processor, but packaged in a bigger platform with more buttons and knobs. The same audio processors will produce the same quality of sounds, but the extra bells and whistles will only add to tweak-ability, not improving the tone in any way. For example, the Digitech RP155 shares the same audio processors as the RP255 and RP355. But the 255 and 355 are more expensive because 255 an integrated expression pedal, and the 355 has a few more knobs, an expression pedal as well as an extra foot-button. There may be some difference in price, amount of presets, or featured amps/effects model but the sound of the same patches will be the same. So if you ever start out on a cheaper multi-effects pedal, and think about upgrading to a higher-level one, do make sure you're not "upgrading" to another pedal with the same standard of build/sound quality.

Then, there's the ever-popular single pedals. Looking to add a drive channel to your clean amp? Get a distortion pedal. Looking for some added ambience? A reverb pedal is your friend. Need more grunt from your amp? Give the front end a kick with a booster or overdrive pedal. In the end, we'll always need like, at least 4 to 5 pedals if we're going for single pedals. Overdrives are essential, because at the max gain end, most people can get a pretty good blues/rock tone out of it, and at the lowest gain setting, a clean boost on some pedals and a slight breakup on the others. An EQ is also recommended because you can use it as a bass boost, treble boost, mid boost, flat boost, scoop pedal, a "telephone sound" pedal, anything imaginable just by playing around with the frequency bands. Delays are pretty popular too as they can give a sense of spaciousness your solos, double your sound to give a dual-guitar approximation, act as a pseudo-reverb pedal, or even imitate a tremolo effect if you're a clean and precise player (check out the song Octopus by Bloc Party). In the end, we'll amass a huge amount of pedals through collecting and buying different type of pedal for comparisons, experiments, or even just as a collection. That means, huge and heavy pedal board, difficulty in powering pedal if you don't have a daisy chain/multi-pedal power supply unit. And even worse are the pedals falling out of the case if not velcro-ed. And velcro means your pedal gets it's appearance "destroyed" underneath. Not that it matters to most people, but vintage pedals could fetch a lower value if you're selling them. And cables. Lots of patch cables, and with all the daisy chain/power supply cables running around, that can spell trouble when something's not working somewhere...

Enough talk about tone, let's talk about usability. Single pedals are no-frills, foolproof things, that require only for you to know about the pedal's power ratings before plugging in any power supply. It does what it does, overdrives drive, distortions drive harder, reverb pedals add reverb, and that's it. Nothing too hard to understand. For multi-effects, most people will need some time to sit down with the manual, experimenting and wrap their head around what this knob does, how that button works... And some people actually give up trying to work their way around using the pedal because it gets too complicated for some to understand. And the darned save/store button that you forgot to press after finally dialling in that sweet tone... But once you find your way, the multi-effects can be your most important component in your rig.

As for convenience, most will find the amp and cabinet simulation on the multi-effects a greatly convenient feature, myself included. You can't plug a single pedal into the PA and expect a usable sound, unless you're using a cab sim pedal or a pedal with the feature already built-in. You can do it with almost any multi-effects though, and most of them actually sound better into the PA rather than into an amp. All you need is a power supply and the multi-effects pedal, maybe a pair of headphones or earphones, and you're good to go. Record a song, gig onstage, or practice at home, zero real amps needed. Save yourself the effort to lug your 30kg Vox to the gig, only to find that one of the power tubes have cracked from that speed bump you drove over too fast. And the convenience of having all the essential/boutique pedals under your foot, for maybe the price of only 1-3 pedals. How economical is that?

However, with multi-effects, you're limited by what's offered by the company in that pedal. They can have all the essential amps in the world, but if you can't find that Soldano sound, you'll have to settle with the Marshall and try some pedal combinations. No Fulltone OCD modelling? Can you live with that very good Tubescreamer simulation? With individual pedals though, you get full control of how you want your sound to sound like. You want a Maxon instead of Ibanez, go get a Maxon. Wah pedal? You know you prefer a Vox instead of Dunlop, so pick your favourite. You want a Mesa? Don't settle for a Fender + distortion pedal, get the real deal if you can afford it, man! Simple as that.

Now, size is an issue here. Some pedals like the original Big Muffs and Fuzz Faces are huge. Almost as big as a small multi-effects unit. Fitting them on your pedalboard could be tough. And there are also compatibility issues. Like, running a modulation pedal, wah pedal or fuzz pedal before or after other pedals can produce different sounds due to the sequence of the pedals causing some effects to be above or under others. That can sometimes produce surprising results, although whether are they usable or not, that's down to personal taste... With multi-effects, everything is set in a sound processor. They're made to work together without much compatibility issues. So the only thing you have to do is plug in and make music happen.

As always, trust your ears and your own needs, not your perception, because we humans are easily deceived. Only you can tell yourself which one works for you. Whether you can live with the limited, not-analogue-enough digital modelling sound and reap the benefits of convenience, portability and value, or do you think it is worth every bit spending some money on something you really like the sound of, to reach tonal nirvana that you've been dreaming about, and silently deal with the woes of a bad back from carrying your tube amp, 2 guitars and one big heavy pedalboard.

I personally pick multi-effects because I think they're good enough for gigs. I mean, what kind of audience goes to a show and say, "Oh this guitar player sounds like he's using digital modelling. If only he uses real tube amps, he would have sounded better..."? Most people will be like, this is a clean section, this is a "noisier" section. So all I need is a nice clean tone, and a nice "noisy" tone that sounds decent enough. At home, I do collect a few individual pedals, because they sound pretty awesome. And I enjoy making some DIY pedals myself too. There's a lot of fun in wiring some components together and get a really cool sound coming out from it. But when it comes down to general usability, I'm all the way digital modelling. Because I'm a simple man....




Hey guys, thanks for yet another read-through of my blog. I haven't updated in a whole week because I was busy with several other things I had on hand. Anyway, I have a pedal review coming up, and it'll be up within a few days time. Watch this space! Thank you for reading, your presence and support means a lot to me. Have a great day ahead!